The Best Dairy-Free Chocolate Avocado Cream Pie with Whipped Coconut Cream!

Avocado in a chocolate pie??? 

Despite avocado’s relatively neutral flavor, for years it’s been relegated to the savory foods department. Avocado is typically used in guacamole and salads, or the occasional dip for variety. And with these kinds of limitations, it only makes it to the table once every few weeks. What a shame that this amazing nutrient dense fruit with so many health benefits is only eaten once a week at most, on Mexican night!

Now, I confess that initially I thought using avocado in sweet dishes was weird. As a kid a saw a recipe in an international cookbook for some kind of sweet avocado dessert from South America and I was like “gross”. But as an adult I’ve realized that some foods or food combinations I used to think were weird as a kid, are actually quite good if I just give them a chance. So when I started seeing recipes for avocado desserts around the internet I thought, I have to try this. And when I saw the chocolate pudding and pie recipes, I was like, What better way to begin my foray into avocado desserts but with chocolate? Ah…chocolate.

To read the rest of my post and view the recipe, please hope on over to Whole Lifestyle Nutrition!

The Best Dairy-Free Chocolate Avocado Cream Pie with Whipped Coconut Cream Recipe!

Oh, and if you want to skip right to my simple and healthy crust recipe (made with palm shortening or butter), click here!

Basic Pie Crust, Real Food Style {A Tutorial in Pictures}

The crust is usually seen as the unhealthy, but delicious part of the pie. But it doesn't have to be this way. With wholesome ingredients the crust can be just as nutritious as any other part of the pie. That is, assuming you are filling the pie with wholesome ingredients.

Making a pie crust at home is practically a lost art. So most people turn to store-bought refrigerated crusts. But these are made with shortening, like Crisco, which is a hydrogenated oil. Hydrogenated oils are the worst kind of oil we can put into our bodies. Our cells need good fats to function properly and these bad fats create brittle, weak cells, which of course effects our bodies on many levels. Some studies link hydrogenated oils to a multitude of modern illnesses. Hydrogenated oils are also known as trans fats, and should not be confused with healthy and natural saturated fats from animals and coconut oil.

I usually use organic palm shortening in my recipe, but butter also works great. Palm shortening is not hydrogenated and is a very healthy, shelf-stable oil. I got mine from Tropical Traditions when they were having a sale. If you get it during free-shipping days, combined with a sale (which they have often), you'll end up only spending as low as $23 for a gallon tub. Spectrum also sells palm shortening at most higher end supermarkets.

Some may have questions as to why I used unbleached all-purpose flour as an option in my recipe. Well, refined, unbleached flour is actually not a modern food, and can be traced thousands of years into the past. Some studies even suggest that white flour is better to use than whole grain flour if you are not planning on soaking or souring the grains (as in authentic sourdough bread making), due to what are known as phytates, or nutrient blockers, that are primarily present in the bran of the grains. My conclusion from my research is that white flour and minimally processed foods containing white flour (like pasta) in moderation can be a part of a healthy diet. We probably eat something with white flour about once a week.

The photo is of a pre-baked pie shell, but this recipe can of course be used for those that require you to bake the pie filling along with the shell.

Basic Pie Crust, Real Food Style

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup organic palm shortening or cold butter

4 to 4 1/2 Tablespoons cold water

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Scoop in the palm shortening. If using cold butter, cut the butter into tiny cubes or very thin slices before adding to the flour. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the flour as finely as possible (which won't be too small with two knives). Use your fingertips to rub together the largest pieces of fat until the whole mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Add 4 tablespoons water and stir. The crumbs should quickly form into a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl without you having to touch it with your hands. If you're stirring it with the spoon and it is looking dry, splash in a little more water. You should not have to mash the dough together to get it all to stick. The correct amount of liquid will accomplish this. This is my secret to a crisp crust that does not fall apart after baking. Also, it is better to have dough that is too wet than too dry. If you accidentally add too much water, just use more flour while rolling the crust out.

Sprinkle some flour on a clean counter. Lightly mold the dough into an even ball, then flatten it into a thick disk.

Lift the disk and sprinkle more flour underneath to prevent sticking. Flip the disk over so you are working with the side that has flour stuck to it.

Using short, outward strokes, roll the dough into a circle. Place your pie plate on top of the circle to see if it is big enough. The circle should be about 1 inch larger than your pie plate.

Sprinkle some flour onto the top of the dough. Carefully fold the dough in half, then in quarters. Place the dough on your pie plate. Carefully unfold. This is my secret to not having the dough tear when you are transferring it to the pie plate.

Fold the edges of the crust under and pinch it together. If it is dry, use a little water as glue. It should mash together easily. If not you will need the water. If some edges are extra long, trim those and glue them to the sides that seem short with a little water.

Work around the pie to make all the edges look even.

Flatten the edge on to the lip of your pie plate.

Using fingers from both hands, pinch together the crust in triangle shapes. This is called fluting. ...Which is hard to demonstrate while taking a picture with one hand! You can also press the edges with a fork.

Smooth any bulging edge portions down onto the side of the crust.

If you do not need a pre-baked shell, proceed from here with your pie filling.

To pre-bake the shell, prick the pie all over with a fork. This will prevent blistering while the pie bakes. Bake the shell at 425 degrees for 7-10 minutes, or until the edges start to turn light brown. Check every minute after the first 7 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.

Cool for about 10 minutes and fill with your filling of choice!

Preparation time; 20 minutes. Cook time; 10 minutes.

This is my unique pie crust recipe that I've perfected over the years. I usually don't have a problem with people posting my recipes on their own blogs, but in this case, please just link back to my recipe.

{This recipe is linked up at Whole Foods Wednesday,  Wild Crafting Wednesday and Tasty Traditions.}

Ivorian Aloco {Fried Plantain and Palm Oil}

Delicious, caramelized fried ripe plantains were my favorite snack during my growing up years in the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Known as aloco in the the Cote d'Ivoire, this dish is usually eaten as a snack served on a piece of newspaper, or the evening meal alongside achekey (a couscous like dish made with grated fermented cassava, usually spelled attieke), pepper sauce, and fried fish. Somehow the combinations of these things is just amazing! The western palate, however, general prefers sweet plantain not mixed with savory fish and pepper. 

In Liberia this dish is usually referred to simply as "fried plantain", and in Ghana it's known as kelewele.  Plantain is a very popular food throughout West Africa, and African in general, as well  as many South American countries where the plantain, also know as the cooking banana, is readily available.

Plantains are prepared in a number of ways in West Africa, and are a nutritious part of the indigenous diet. They can be thinly sliced and fried green to make a chip very similar to potato chips (only better!), they are fried when the fruit is yellow and ripe, as is pictured above, which tastes more like soft French fries, or they can be fried when the plantain is black and appears to be rotten, as is done with aloco. In the Cote d'Ivoire plantain is also boiled then beaten in a mortar with boiled cassava to prepare futu, a delicious doughy starch served with meat gravy. Plantains are also served roasted when very ripe over low coals, which is another personal favorite.

When fried with a healthy oil, such as palm oil as is traditionally done, aloco can be a healthy side dish or snack. Aloco is an example of a modern day tribal food and is appropriate for paleo, primal, whole foods, and traditional foods diets. The basics to this recipe are plantain, oil, and salt, but some people add ginger, garlic, hot pepper, onions or a combination of these. My favorite is the ginger. 

Plantains are now available at most large supermarkets, as well as ethnic food stores. You can often find rich red palm oil at your local ethnic food store as well, or order it online at Tropical Traditions. Those who may not like the earthy taste of palm oil should now that it blends perfectly with the plantain and any strong taste is no longer noticeable.

Many people who grew up in West Africa crave aloco. But there are several tricks to getting that authentic taste. First of all, you want the fruit to be at the perfect stage of ripeness. Like the banana, as plantains ripen the starches are converted into sugar and the fruit gets more and more sweet. This is part of the secret to aloco. The plantains should be black with a few spots of yellow still visible.  If you notice some mold developing on the skin the fruit is getting too ripe and starting to spoil beneath the peal. (Though portions of it will probably still be okay to cook). Cooking them has to be done correctly as well. You want the pieces to be perfectly caramelized without falling apart or burning.

Aloco-perfect plantains. Mostly black with a touch of yellow still remaining.

Ivorian Aloco

3-4 Tablespoons palm oil or coconut oil (preferable unrefined for no coconut taste)

2 very, very ripe plantains, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces (not sliced)

2-3 teaspoons finely chopped or grated ginger root, optional

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat (number 4 on my stove) for about five minutes. Combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon the plantain evenly into the pan. Cook for about five minutes, then with a fork, carefully turn the pieces. Do not use a spatula or spoon as the pieces will be very fragile since they're so ripe. Cook for another 15 minutes, turning carefully at each five minute interval until the pieces are caramelized and dark brown. 

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Or don't drain if you aren't bothered by healthy oil!

Preparation time: 2 minutes. Cook time: 20 minutes. Servings: 2-3

After about 5 minutes of cooking.

Perfectly caramelized.

{This recipe is linked up at Tasty Traditions and Whole Foods Wednesday.}

 What ways have you found to incorporate plantains into a modern diet?